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Image:Adam Małysz - Engelberg 2006.jpg|Adam Małysz
Image:Adam Małysz - Engelberg 2006.jpg|Adam Małysz
Image:Gollob tomasz.jpg|Tomasz Gollob
Image:Gollob tomasz.jpg|Tomasz Gollob
Image:Jerzy Dudek.jpg|Jerzy Dudek
Image:Waynegretzky kings trade.jpg|Wayne Gretzky
Image:Miroslav Klose 5dec2006.jpg|Miroslav Klose
Image:Jerzy Dudek.jpg|Jerzy Dudek
Image:Jerzy Dudek.jpg|Jerzy Dudek
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Revision as of 00:00, 7 September 2007

Poland's main sports include soccer, volleyball, hockey, basketball and handball. Soccer is the country's most popular sport, with a rich history of international competition. Poland has also made a distinctive mark in motorcycle speedway racing thanks to Tomasz Gollob, a highly successful Polish rider. The Polish mountains are the ideal venue for hiking, skiing and mountain biking and attract millions of tourists every year from all over the world. Baltic beaches and resorts are popular locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking and a broad-range of other water-themed sports.

Basketball

Football (Soccer)

Polish National Soccer Team

The Polish National Soccer Team was the winner of the 1972 Olympic Football Tournament, as well as a runner-up in 1976 and 1992. Poland has made 7 Fifa World Cup appearances (1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006) and achieved great success, finishing third at both the 1974 World Cup in Germany and the 1982 World Cup in Argentina. The junior team has also achieved success on the international stage, finishing third at the 1983 FIFA U-20 World Cup Final, fourth at the 1979 FIFA U-20 World Cup Final and fourth at the 1993 FIFA U-17 World Cup Final.

Handball

Speedway

Volleyball

Other sports


Famous Polish Athletes

  • Grzegorz Lato, Soccer Player (born April 8, 1950 in Malbork, Poland) - Lato is the all-time cap leader for the Polish National Soccer Team. He was the leading scorer at the 1974 Fifa World Cup, where he won the Golden Shoe after scoring a tournament best 7 goals. Lato's playing career coincided with the golden era of Polish soccer, which began with Olympic gold in Munich in 1972 and ended a decade later with a third place finish at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, a repeat of the Poles' impressive finish at the 1974 championships in Germany. Lato retired from professional soccer in 1984 with 45 international goals, a record that stands to this day.
  • Adam Małysz, Ski Jumper (born December 3 1977 in Wisła, Poland) - Małysz won two olympic medals (1 Silver, 1 Bronze) at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. He has also won an incredible 38 World Cup competitions, only second to Finland's Matti Nykänen (46) on the all-time list. He is the first ski jumper ever to win the World Cup 3 times in a row.
  • Irena Szewińska, Sprinter (born Irena Kirszenstein on May 24 1946 in Leningrad, Russia, - Between 1964 and 1980 Szewińska participated in five Olympic Games, winning seven medals, three of them gold. She also broke six world records and was the first woman to hold world records at 100 m, 200 m and 400 m at the same time. She also won 13 medals in European Championships. Between 1965 and 1979 she gathered 26 titles of Champion of Poland in 100 m sprint, 200 m sprint, 400 m sprint, 4x400 m relay and long jump.
  • Tomasz Gollob, Motorcycle Speedway Rider (born April 11 1971 in Bydgoszcz, Poland) - Gallob is Poland's most recognized motorcyclist. He has finished in the top ten of the Speedway Grand Prix 11 times, including his best performance in 1999 when he captured second place.
  • Andrzej Gołota, Boxer (born January 5 1968) - In his early days, Gołota had 111 wins in a stellar amateur career that culminated in his winning a bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Gołota also captured a Bronze Medal at the 1989 European Amateur Boxing Championships. His professional record stands at 39 wins, 6 losses, one no contest, and one draw, with 32 knockouts.
  • Jerzy Dudek, Soccer Player (born March 23, 1973 in Rybnik, Poland) - Dudek, a famous Polish goalkeeper began his professional career with Sokół Tychy, a team in the Polish National Soccer League where he played one season in 1995-1996. Between 1996-2002, Dudek was a member of Feyenoord Rotterdam of the Eredivisie league in The Netherlands where he won the 1998-1999 Dutch League Championship and the 1999–2000 Dutch Super Cup. During his stay with Feyenoord he also recieved the leagues highest goalkeeping honors, winning the Dutch Keeper Of The Year Award twice (1998–1999, 1999-2000. In 2002 Dudek was transfered to Liverpool of the English Premier League where he became a household name, winning the League Cup in 2002–03, the UEFA Champions League in 2004–05, the European Super Cup in 2005–06 as well as the FA Cup in 2005–06. Presently Dudek plays for Real Madrid in Spain. He has made 56 appearances for the Polish National Team.
  • Miroslav Klose, Soccer Player (born Mirosław Marian Kloze on June 9, 1978 in Opole, Poland) - Klose was the top scorer and the Golden Boot winner at the 2006 FIFA World Cup|2006 World Cup in Germany with a tournament-high 5 goals. He also scored 5 goals at the 2002 FIFA World Cup|2002 World Cup, giving him a total of 10 goals in World Cup finals play. Klose has a wide family history of athletics. His mother, Barbara Jeż was a member of the Polish National Handball Team and his father, Józef Kloze played on the Polish National Football Team. Klose currently plays for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga in Germany, and makes regular appearances for the German National Football Team.
  • Mariusz Czerkawski, Hockey Player (born April 13 1972 in Radomsko, Poland) - Czerkawski has enjoyed a successfull career in the National Hockey League with a total of 215 goals, 220 assists and 435 points in 745 games. Through out his 14-year NHL career, Czerkawski played for the Boston Bruins (1993-1996, 2005-2006), Edmonton Oilers (1996-1997), New York Islanders (1997-2002, 2003-2004) Montreal Canadiens (2002-2003) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (2005-2006). Czerkawski represented Poland in the 1991-1992 Winter Olympics where he collected 1 assist in 5 games. Presently, he plays for the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers of the Nationalliga A in Switzerland.
  • Krzysztof Oliwa, Hockey Player (born April 12, 1973 in Tychy, Poland) - Former professional ice hockey player who played the left wing position in the National Hockey League. Oliwa was nicknamed "The Hammer" due to his physical and intimidating on-ice presence. At 6'5, with a strong build he would normally play the role of the team's enforcer. Oliwa won the 1999-2000 Stanley Cup as a member of the New Jersey Devils Oliwa has also played for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and the Calgary Flames.
  • Wayne Gretzky, Hockey Player (born 26 January 1961 in Brantford, Canada) Although Gretzky was born and raised in Canada, his paternal grandparents were ethnic Polish immigrants who came to Canada at the beginning of the 20th century from the town of Mogilev in the Russian Empire (now Belarus). In a 1999 Hockey Hall Of Fame inductee press conference, Gretzky stated "Thank God I'm Polish" when a friendly joke was about another inductee of Scottish descent who wore a traditional Scottish kilt. Through out his 20 year NHL career Gretzky held or shared 61 NHL records upon his retirement on April 18, 1999, including 40 regular season records, 15 playoff records, and 6 all-star records. In addition, Gretzky won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, 9 MVP awards and 10 scoring titles. He is the league's all-time leader in goals (894), assists (1,963) and points (2,857). Gretzky's #99 was retired league-wide at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game in Toronto. He is regarded as the greatest hockey player of all-time.



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